Advertising and display device

ABSTRACT

An advertising and display device for use with a gasoline pump which is locked to the top of the pump by a support assembly held in place by removable front and rear window assemblies provided with the pump.

United States Patent 1 Hart [11] 3,882,618 1 May 13,1975

[ ADVERTISING AND DISPLAY DEVICE [76] Inventor: William S. Hart, 22 Suttonwood Dr., Commack, NY. 11725 [22] Filed: Sept. 17, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 397,825

[52] US. Cl. 40/125 H; 40/125 R [51] Int. Cl. G09f 07/00 [58] Field of Search 40/125 H, 125 R, 129 C, 40/333, 312, 313, 319

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,572,174 10/1951 McKenzie 40/125 H 3,274,548 9/1966 Brimsek 3,568,347 3/1971 Sheker 3,627,683 2/1953 Leander 40/125 R 3,685,184 8/1972 Snyder 40/125 H 3,715,821 2/1973 Hawes 40/129 C 3,736,682 6/1973 Farmer et a1. 40/125 H 3,757,443 9/1973 Miller et a1. 40/125 H FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 704,578 3/1965 Canada 40/125 H Primary ExaminerRobert W. Michell Assistant Examiner.lohn F. Pitrelli Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrumbaugh, Graves, Donohue & Raymond [57] ABSTRACT An advertising and display device for use with a gasoline pump which is locked to the top of the pump by a support assembly held in place by removable front and rear window assemblies provided with the pump.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ADVERTISING AND DISPLAY DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an advertising and display device to be mounted on the top of a gasoline pump. In particular, this invention relates to a display device which is locked on the top of the gasoline pump by front and rear window assemblies which are provided on gasoline pumps to protect mechanisms used to display the quantity of gasoline purchased and the total purchase price.

Display signs are commonly mounted on gasoline pumps for the purpose of point-of-sale advertising. Many of these signs are mounted on gasoline pumps by pressure-sensitive means or by threaded means or rivots and the like.

Generally, signs attached to pumps by pressuresensitive means are easily mounted but they are not al ways desirable, because they are subject to being blown off the pump by wind or knocked off the pump by accidental bumping of the sign. Consequently, these advertising displays are not as durable as others which are attached by threaded means or rivots and the like. However, when advertising display signs are mounted to the pump by threaded means and rivots or the like, it is necessary that the surface of the pump housing be permanently defaced, because holes must be drilled to receive bolts or rivots.

It is desirable to have a display device for use with gasoline pumps which is sturdy and durable and which can be mounted easily on the pump without defacing the surface of the pump.

Also, it is desirable to have a point-of-sale advertising display which is designed so that the advertising can be changed easily and inexpensively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of known display signs used with gasoline pumps by providing a display device which is locked securely on the top of the gasoline pump by means of the removable window assemblies which are provided with the gasoline pump.

The improved advertising and display device includes an inverted U-shaped support assembly having a central portion for fitting over the top surface of the pump and having front and rear legs which extend down the front and rear surfaces, respectively, of the pump. A lip extending outwardly from the pump is formed on each end of the front and rear legs.

The pump includes removable front and rear window assemblies. These assemblies are removed from the pump prior to mounting the display device on the pump. After the support assembly is positioned, the window assemblies are again fastened to the pump. The frames of the front and rear window assemblies overlap the corresponding lips formed on the front and rear legs of the support assembly, whereby the support assembly is prevented from moving upward. Thus, the support assembly is locked in its position by the central portion of the inverted U-shaped structure resting on the top surface of the pump and the window frames overlapping the lips on the front and rear legs of the support assembly. With this arrangement, the support assembly is held securely on the top of the gasoline pump and is not easily removed by wind or accidental bumping.

Between the ends of the support assembly is formed a truncated A-shaped portion for mounting a display sign. In a preferred embodiment, the display sign is a tent-shaped structure having an inverted V-shaped cross-section with an open bottom. The open bottom of the tentstructure is placed over the truncated A- shaped portion and affixed thereto with fastening means.

The outer surface of the tent-shaped display sign is formed with a permanent advertising display, but the sign is adapted to receive other advertising material in the form of a sleeve which fits over the display sign and is attached to the display sign by fastening means. Thus, it is quite simple to change advertising and the only expense involved is the cost of the inexpensive sleeve which is inserted over the display sign.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, some preferred embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,

wherein: Y

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display device according to the present invention mounted to the top of a gasoline pump;

FIG. 2 is an expanded side elevational view, partly in section, taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1 showing the installation of the display device on the gasoline pump; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another display sign which can be used with the support assembly of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a gasoline pump is shown generally by reference numeral 20. This gasoline pump has a top surface 22 and front and rear window assemblies 24 and 26. These window assemblies include front and rear window frames 28 and 30, respectively, for supporting front and rear windows 32 and 34. The window assemblies are removably fastened to the front and rear surfaces 36 and 38 of the pump 20, as shown in FIG, 2, by fastening means 40, which, for example, may comprise a spring means 41, mounted on the front and rear surfaces 36 and 38 of the pump 20, which cooperate with detents 42 formed on the frames 28 and 30. Although only two fastening means 40 are shown in FIG. 2 holding two corners of the rear window assembly 26, it should be understood-that similiar fastening means may be used to hold the remaining corners of the rear window assembly 26 to the pump 20 and to hold all four corners of the front window assembly 24 to the pump 20. In FIG. 2 the front window assembly 24 is shown removed from the pump 20. It is fastened to the pump by moving it in the direction of the arrow into abutment with the pump.

An advertising and display sign 44 is mounted to the top surface 22 of the gasoline pump 20 by means of a support assembly 46. In a preferred embodiment, the support assembly 46 is formed from a rigid strap material as shown in FIG. 1. The support assembly has a generally inverted U-shaped construction having a central portion 46a, which fits over the top surface 22 of the gasoline pump as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a front leg 46b and rear leg 460 for extending down the front and rear surfaces 36 and 38, respectively, of the pump. A lip 48 is formed on the front leg 46b and extends outwardly from the pump 20 when the support assembly 46 is placed on the pump 20. A similiar lip, not shown, is formed on the rear leg 460. The lengths of the lip 48 and the corresponding lip on the rear leg 460 are dimensioned to extend just beyond the frames 28 and 30, respectively, when the window assemblies 24 and 26 are fastened on the pump 20.

The window assemblies 24 and 26 are removed before placing the support assembly 46 on the pump. After the support assembly 46 has been positioned, the window assemblies are replaced and fastened to the pump, whereby the frames 28 and 30 overlap the lips on the legs 46b and 460. With this arrangement, the support assembly 46 is prevented from moving downward because the central portion 46a of the assembly 46 abuts the top surface 22 of the gasoline pump, and the support assembly 46 is prevented from moving upward because the frames 28 and 30 overlap the lips formed on the legs 46b and 460. Accordingly, the support assembly 46 is held securely on the top of a gasoline pump 20.

In order to mount the display sign 44 to the support assembly 46 a generally truncated A-shaped portion 50 is formed from the support assembly 46 betweenthe legs thereof, as shown in FIG. 2. The legs 50a and 50b of portion 50 may be indented at 52 and 54 to provide a ledge on which thedisplay sign 44 rests as shown in FIG. 2. In this manner, the display sign 44 is held in a spaced relation to the top surface 22 of the gasoline pump 20, so as to allow objects to be placed underneath the display sign 44.

The display sign 44 in the preferred embodiment comprises a tent shaped structure as shown in FIG. 1 having gusseted ends 56 and 58 and an open bottom 60. The open bottom 60 is inserted over the truncated A-shaped portion 50, and fastening means 62 and 64 are used to mount the display sign 44 to the support assembly 46.

The display sign 44 is provided with permanent advertising 66; however, with the preferred embodiment it is quite easy to change advertising. For this purpose, removable advertising 68 is provided which may be attached to the display sign 44 with spring clips 70 and 72, for example, mounted on the lower corners of the front side of the display sign 44 as shown in FIG. 1 and similiar clips (not shown) mounted on the lower corners of the rear side of display sign 44. The removable advertising may be constructed from polyethylene, plastic or cardboard or the like and may be shaped into a sleeve or tent, for example, for placement over the display sign 44 as shown in FIG. 1. To change advertising with this arrangement, the old advertising is simply unclipped from the display sign 44 and is replaced by the new advertising.

In FIG. 3 is shown a second embodiment of the display sign 44. This particular display sign 44a is of a single piece construction folded in half and sealed on the side edges 74 and 76 which are adjacent the fold 78 of the display sign 44a. The open bottom portion 80 is simply pried open and inserted over the truncated A- shaped portion 50 of the support assembly 46 as shown in FIG. 3 and again the display sign 44a is attached to the support assembly 46 by means of .the fastening means 62 and 64.

While the fundamental novel features of the invention have been shown and described, itshould be un-, I

included in the scope of the inventionas defined by the following claims.

I claim:

ll. Apparatus for supporting an advertising or display sign or the like atop a gasoline pump having a substantially flat top surface and a pair of oppositely disposed vertical side surfaces, each of said side surfaces includ-Q ing a window assembly'releasably secured thereto, said I window assembly having a window portion retained within a frame, the frame adapted to bear against the pump side surface and maintain the window portion spaced therefrom when said window assembly is secured in place on said pump, said supporting apparatus comprising,

mounting means for retaining said displaydevice in an upright position when said supporting apparatus is positioned on the pump,.

a pair of rigid elongated members extending from opposite sides of said mounting means, said members adapted to rest on the top surface of said pumpand maintain said mounting means in positionto retain said display device in its upright position, and leg means at the free ends of each of said elon-' gated members extending downwardly from said top surface when said members rest on said top surface, said leg means being shaped and dimensioned to be firmly retained between said pump and the.

frames of said window assemblies :when said window assemblies are attached to theirrespective side surfaces, whereby said supporting apparatusis 7 locked against movement relative to said pump.

2. The supporting apparatus according to claim 1' wherein said mounting means has a truncatedA' shaped cross-section.

3. The supporting apparatus according to claim 2" wherein the truncated A-shaped portion has a ledge formed on each leg thereof to support the bottom edges of the display sign so that when the display sign is mounted on the support assembly, the display sign is held in spaced apart relation with the top surface of the pump.

4. The supporting apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting means, said pair of rigid'elongated members and said leg means are integrally formed from a single;

length of strap material.

5. The supporting apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said leg means includes an outwardly extending lip at its lowerend, said lips adapted to be engaged bythe frames of said window assemblies when attached to the pump to secure said supporting apparatus against up ward movement. I 

1. Apparatus for supporting an advertising or display sign or the like atop a gasoline pump having a substantially flat top surface and a pair of oppositely disposed vertical side surfaces, each of said side surfaces including a window assembly releasably secured thereto, said window assembly having a window portion retained within a frame, the frame adapted to bear against the pump side surface and maintain the window portion spaced therefrom when said window assembly is secured in place on said pump, said supporting apparatus comprising, mounting means for retaining said display device in an upright position when said supporting apparatus is positioned on the pump, a pair of rigid elongated members extending from opposite sides of said mounting means, said members adapted to rest on the top surface of said pump and maintain said mounting means in position to retain said display device in its upright position, and leg means at the free ends of each of said elongated members extending downwardly from said top surface when said members rest on said top surface, said leg means being shaped and dimensioned to be firmly retained between said pump and the frames of said window assemblies when said window assemblies are attached to their respective side surfaces, whereby said supporting apparatus is locked against movement relative to said pump.
 2. The supporting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said mounting means has a truncated A-shaped cross-section.
 3. The supporting apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the truncated A-shaped portion has a ledge formed on each leg thereof to support the bottom edges of the display sign so that when the display sign is mounted on the support assembly, the display sign is held in spaced apart relation with the top surface of the pump.
 4. The supporting apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting means, said pair of rigid elongated members and said leg means are integrally formed from a single length of strap material.
 5. The supporting apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said leg means includes an outwardly extending lip at its lower end, said lips adapted to be engaged by the frames of said window assemblies when attached to the pump to secure said supporting apparatus against upward movement. 